1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an oil recovery boom and more specifically to an immediate and large-scale removal system of oil from the sea. The present invention is more particularly, though not exclusively useful as multiple oil recovery booms can be used simultaneously in order to attack widespread oil presence.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the past century, crude oil has become the lifeblood of many economies. As the need for crude oil increases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to locate reserves of crude oil, and remove that oil both efficiently, and safely. It is common for crude oil reserves to be located beneath the sea. These reserves can often be very large volumes of oil at extraordinarily high pressures. Since the first submerged oil well was drilled in 1891, several oil platform designs have been implemented. One oil rig standard common today is to utilize floating oil rigs to drill into the sea bed and into the oil volume. Floating oil rigs are anchored to the sea floor, but the oil rig floats on the surface of the ocean. The changing seas, and natural ocean currents, result in movement of the oil rig. Nevertheless, techniques have been developed to safely remove oil from the ocean and into pipelines or oil tanker ships to transport the crude oil for refining.
Oil rigs, when utilized properly and safely, can be very efficient at removing the oil from the seabed. However, because many oil reserves are located several thousand feet below the surface of the sea, it can be risky to drill on moving platforms. Thus, while the safety of oil rigs is high, there will nevertheless be an occasional accident that results in the presence of crude oil in the sea.
The sea is a very delicate environment, and the introduction of large volumes of crude oil can quickly devastate an entire ecosystem. Thus, when an accident does occur, it is imperative that any oil present in the sea be removed immediately. The oil can quickly dissipate throughout the region of the sea, and quickly harm or destroy the regional fish, wildlife and coastline unless steps are taken immediately to remove the leaked oil.
The oil recovery boom of the present invention provides for the immediate and large-scale removal of oil from the sea. The present invention is scalable and can be reproduced and multiple oil recovery booms can be used simultaneously in order to attack widespread oil presence.